By his tenth year on Tatooine the sandstorms don't catch him by surprise anymore. He has learned to anticipate them before they even gather. It's the slight tingling in the air that heralds them and makes the fine hairs on his arms stand on edge.

From the rocky crag, Obi-Wan's gaze strays into the distance, over dunes and rubble stretching before him, all the way to the horizon. The twin suns beat down upon the landscape. Once again, he listens to the silence, an eerie stillness that already carries the wailing and screeching of the wind. Then he starts the descent, swift and concentrated, carefully measuring every step, since the rubble is treacherous, full of loose gravel and hidden crevices. The last thing he needs is a broken ankle and several days out under the open sky until a group of Jawas finds him, sunburned and almost completely parched. He must be cautious. Persevere, stay healthy and keep a clear mind, not for himself but for Luke.

Despite its dangers, the desert seems like a friend, grim indeed, and demanding, but steadfast. When the ghosts of his past are gnawing on his sanity it is the desert which holds him in the here and now. Roaming through the barren lands soothes his wounds. Numbs. Heals. While he finishes the thought he smiles and almost recognizes Qui-Gon's voice in it. Don't lose yourself in your fears, Padawan. Mind the moment. It startles him. He speaks back to his friend, but just like that his voice was gone.

He misses the sound of that name more than he can say. Padawan. The times when he was but a learner.

Just over the next rocky terrain he runs into some Tusken Raiders. They surround him, but their aggressiveness doesn’t phase him. He’s calm, but attentive. He feels a barrel of rifle to his back.

Obi Wan”I only come in peace. Just passing through.”

The Tuskens just taunt Ben. Poking and prodding him. He begins acting crazy. He sits down and throws sand in the air and makes a noise as if he’s dying.
The Tuskens look at one another then almost laughter like, but they plan on killing him anyway. The one with the rifle raises it to Ben’s head as Ben whips around, saber ignited and cutting the rifle in two along with a Tusken arm.

The others make a loud noise and run off.

As he is getting closer to his destination, a young boy 10 years old greets him.
Luke”Ben! Have you you come to tell us more stories of the old times?”

Ben”Sure, if your Uncle will tolerate it. I see you’ve been practicing piloting.”

They look over at a home made x-wing made out of various things.

Luke”I will someday be the best pilot in the galaxy.”

Ben”Oh, I have no doubt, young one.”

Owen makes his way out, not very happy to see Ben. He reluctantly shakes his hand.

Owen”Go on and play, Luke.”

Luke”But I want to hear his stories.”

Owen”You will later on. I need you clean up around here a bit before supper.”

Ben ruffles Luke’s hair and smiles, but Luke runs off disappointed.

Owen”Look I understand what you were sent here to do, but he’s in our care. You will just confuse him.”

Ben”I’m just watching out for him. It’s my duty to see he follows the path.”

Owen grows impatient as it grows night. Beru comes out to them.

Beru”Supper is read. Bne you’re welcome to join us.”

Owen”Ben was just leaving. He’s not going to be around much anymore. Right, Ben?”

Luke is hiding behind some old junk listening. Ben stares over at Luke and winks at him.

Ben”Yes, I must be going for now.”

Beru”Well at least take some food with you. I insist.”

Ben”Thank you.”

It is now pitch black, except for the campfire Ben has made. He eats and then meditates. He waits, he searches within.

Qui gon”Stay in the present. Time will come with what is needed. Yoda is on the same path.” Obi Wan seems to whisk it away s an afterthought. Letting it pass him by, the lonliness is getting to him,

He puts out the fire execpt a s torch he makes and moves on.
Upon his return to the hut, a small lizard follows Obi-Wan into the building. He crouches and examines his new little friend, but still, exile, saddens him. This is how far you've come, Obi-Wan, searching for enlightenment and friendship in a wasteland.

In the darkness of his habitation, the hours are melting away. His body might be tired, but his mind is working overtime flooded by scraps of memories that are passing him by, running free, in wild abandon. Some of them strike him as cruel, others as merely bizarre. He yearns to end the chaos, yearns for lucidity, for perfect peace. The Force is still in him and around him, but he doesn’t dare open up to it. Not yet. The last time he did it, he felt the other Jedi dying too distinctly. Small bright lights, adrift in the whispering flow of the universe, snuffed out and extinguished, flame after flame.

The anguish had almost overwhelmed his soul, then...one day and one night in which he had screamed into the desert, only one breath away from giving up. Peace. There is no death, only the Force. In that case, come, Force and take me. Devour me, my guilt, my pain and let it dissolve in you.

Maybe, he had to come this close to the abyss to realise that he is the one who has to linger, to guard and to keep the end of lights from becoming eternal darkness. To preserve hope for the generations to come. The very hope that had died with Anakin but was reborn in Luke.

For every Jedi that fades, the force gives us a new one, Padawan.

Obi Wan lies completely still, but in his heart he whispers these words, again and again like a mantra, until the words dispel the pictures and Qui-Gon's voice drowns out the wind.

Good one, Javen! Luke is age ten in this: Do you plan additional installments?

Thanks. Yes. I have some outlined just need to write them into stories. I've always been interested in Obi Wan watching over Luke and what Luke was like as boy and how Owen's anger towards Obi Wan and anything that had to do with the Jedi in general.

Good one, Javen! Luke is age ten in this: Do you plan additional installments?

Thanks. Yes. I have some outlined just need to write them into stories. I've always been interested in Obi Wan watching over Luke and what Luke was like as boy and how Owen's anger towards Obi Wan and anything that had to do with the Jedi in general.